Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 34,937 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,706,211 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,937 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Ares Capital worth $30,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 45,840 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter worth $376,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 81.4% in the first quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 25,872 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 11,608 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.2% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,183,795 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $21,332,000 after acquiring an additional 47,535 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.5% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,631 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.7%

ARCC opened at $18.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $23.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.3%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.60.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.